AUTHOR=Sharma Prateek , Pollock Nathaniel J. , Hovdestad Wendy , Williams Gabriela , Tonmyr Lil 
  
TITLE=Prevalence of Out-Of-Home Care Among School-Aged Children in Canada, 2002–2018: An Analysis of Nationally-Representative Student Survey Data
  
JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health
  
VOLUME=Volume 70 - 2025
  
YEAR=2025
  
URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2025.1608481
  
DOI=10.3389/ijph.2025.1608481
  
ISSN=1661-8564
  
ABSTRACT=ObjectivesThe objectives were to estimate the prevalence of out-of-home care among school-aged children in Canada by year, gender, age group, and placement type and assess time trends.MethodsWe analyzed data from five cycles of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey. Respondents were students in grades six through ten attending public schools in Canada. Based on a question about the family structure, we derived three types of living arrangements – (1) foster/children’s home, (2) kinship home, or (3) living with a parent(s) – and estimated the prevalence of each type.ResultsThe pooled sample included 93,720 students; 1.1% reported living in a foster/children’s home and 2.1% in a kinship home and in 2018. At the p = 0.05 level (chi-square), there were no observed differences in prevalence by gender or age group. Over time, the prevalence of living in a kinship home increased more than foster/children’s home (average percent change per cycle of 18.5% versus 5.0%), to 2.9% and 1.1%, respectively, in 2018.ConclusionsThe prevalence of out-of-home care in Canada was higher that previous estimates based on census and administrative data.